With the new GCSEs, the expectations for candidates to understand the world surrounding an extract are higher than ever before. On top of this, exam and comprehension questions are designed to assess learners’ understanding of specific themes within already-challenging texts.
In order to ensure that students are responding to a text, sessions can be planned to put them into the seat of the examiner – to identify which questions would be relevant to a text and which contextual links would be important.
Why teach this?
If your students struggle to widen and contextualise their ideas in reading and writing, then ask them to create the questions! Develop students’ engagement with exam-style texts.
Key curriculum links
Pupils will develop their:
- Contextual links in KS4 literature analysis
- Wider understanding in literature and language
- Understanding of increasingly challenging texts
- Ability to understand writers’ ideas
Laura Brown is the lead in English at the Thomas Lord Audley School, in Colchester.
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KS4 English Literature Lesson Plan – Let Students Play the Role of Examiner to Make Crucial Contextual Links about Texts
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